Readers can help write Superman's new road trip

By
Michael Cavna

The troubling news straight from the Daily Planet: DC is snubbing D.C.

Then again, Washington shouldn't take it terribly personally that the DC's Man of Steel is bypassing our Nation's Capital. Clark Kent is also bypassing the Big Apple -- the very home of DC Entertainment.

DC Comics announced today that beginning next month, Superman will embark on a 12-issue, cross-country walk to reconnect with his roots. For the road-tripping story arc "Grounded" -- by writer J. Michael Straczynski and artist Eddy Barrows -- Superman fans can submit 75- to 1,000-word essays to tell DC why the Krypton-born Kansan should visit their humble hamlet.

The catch: Because the Smallville superhero's general route is roughly predetermined, the contest eligibility allows only cities and towns within 50 miles of Chicago, Des Moines, Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle.

In other words: Washington, D.C., residents are as out of luck as folks in most Southern and Northeastern states, This despite the fact that Superman's journey begins in Philadelphia.

Nine winners will be selected. DC is "looking to hear what people have to say, how the character affected their lives" and "more important, what the character means to them," DC co-publisher Dan DiDio tells the Associated Press.

The official rules for entry can be found at Newsarama (among other sites),

"DC is "looking to hear what people have to say, how the character affected their lives" and "more important, what the character means to them,"

What character? Superman? or someone in their town who made a difference? I would think that the Superman mythos would be better served if Clark Kent was the one going town-to-town 'ala' Charles Kurwalt interviewing 'people about people' instead of a self-serving storyline about how great Superman is and how he made a difference and what he means to people.
That's not what Superman is about.

The best selling Superman books were the Alex Ross books in which the Man of Steel's strength's and character were defined by the people he grew up with and those he worked with.

His journey should be to discover who the local heroes were and write about them as Clark Kent (using the real names of real people).

What? Are they making Supes less self-confident and think he needs an ego boost from people saying how great he is?
Sorry, Superman and Captain America KNOW who they are and what effect they have on people. Their great strength is in how they help ordinary people deal with the crap in life by their example.

Hey, I could be wrong. I haven't read the official rules yet. I just felt I needed to say this first.